Invoice a project

A project is billed in parts. Each invoice can hold back retention and recover part of an advance, and you see the figures before you issue it.

Before you start

• You need the right Create and change projects, costs and invoices.
• With Books switched on, you also need the Books right Manage sales documents and payments.

Steps

1. Open the project and go to Invoices. The line above the table shows the progress billed, the retention held, the advance to recover and the time and materials ready to bill.
2. Under New invoice, choose the Kind:
   • Milestone: choose the Phase whose milestone amount you bill, or type an Amount.
   • Progress: type the % complete (so far). The tasks' suggested figure is shown next to it.
   • Time and materials: approved billable hours at the billing rate, plus billable costs with markup, not yet billed.
   • Advance: type the Amount the customer pays up front.
   • Retention release: releases the retention held, or the Amount you type.
3. Check the Retention % and the Advance to recover. Leave the advance empty to recover it automatically.
4. Set the Date and the Text on the invoice if you want your own wording.
5. Select Preview and check the work, retention, advance and net amounts.
6. Select Issue in Books, or Issue to the customer's account if Books is off.

Good to know

• With Books, the invoice is a Books tax invoice with its own number (for example INV-000123) and the project number as its reference. Retention and the advance recovered are shown as a discount, so VAT is charged on what you bill now. Books uses your country's standard VAT rate when your organisation charges VAT. Record payments as Books receipts; the project shows what Books says is paid.
• Without Books, the invoice is a charge on the customer's account with your VAT % added. It is not a tax invoice. Record payments with Record a payment on the invoice row: Cash, Bank transfer, Card, Cheque or Other.
• Milestone and progress invoices together can never exceed the contract value. Time and materials is not capped.
• A progress % that is not above what you already billed bills nothing. Progress invoices need a contract value.
• Each milestone, hour and cost is billed only once. Sending the same form twice issues one invoice.
• An advance counts as money received, not as revenue. All advances together cannot exceed the contract.
• If Books refuses the invoice (for example a closed period), nothing is issued and the lines are freed. If Books asks you to try again, send the same form again to finish that invoice.
• Late, unbilled and retention alerts: see Follow project margins and alerts.